John Dalli, commissioner in charge of health and consumer policy, said the EFSA demonstrated there were “areas of uncertainty, deriving from new studies, which showed that BPA might have an effect on the development, immune response or tumour promotion.”

He called the ban good news “for European parents who can be sure that as of mid-2011 plastic infant feeding bottles will not include BPA.”

Manufacturers in member states will no longer be able to use BPA in baby bottles as of March 2011. Imports and sales of bottles containing the substance will be banned in June.

Canada banned BPA in baby bottles and other baby products two years ago. Earlier this fall, it became the first country to deem the chemical toxic. The federal government is also planning to bring in new regulations limiting the substance from industrial effluent.